One military source said: “His commanding officer will probably have a word but I imagine his family might be even more annoyed at his stupidity.”

Another expert, a former instructor at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, said the Prince is most likely to face an “interview without coffee”.

“It is very stupid doing that anywhere near cameras,” he said. “I don’t know how his minders let that happen. My view is that he will probably get a telling off. If he’d just come back from active service and was letting off steam it might be different.”

St James's Palace has confirmed the naked man in the pictures is Prince Harry but declined to comment further.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence would not say whether the incident will result in disciplinary action.

The images were published on the US-based gossip website TMZ. They are available for publication by other newspapers for a five-figure sum.